There is a lot of talk about ethical issues related to young people, especially regarding their personal development and social contribution. In this context, a central concern in their lives requires them to build a life project that gives meaning to their lives (Damon, 2008).

In Brazil, during 2015 to 2016, a research project was developed, advised by Dr. Ulisses Araújo, about the life projects of 100 students in the EACH (School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities) of the University of São Paulo. This research project was based on the studies of William Damon (2008) and his collaborators on “youth purpose” (see coa.stanford.edu).

Our objective was to see if it was possible to identify if university students had a life project (purpose) by collecting data online through the SurveyMonkey platform. We found that, in this sample, 8 students had no life project, and those who had, 64 fit into the category “self oriented” (had a life project that was oriented to benefit themselves), and 28 in the category “beyond the self” (had a life project that also aimed to benefit others and the world) (Rojas, 2016).

For more information on this Brazilian research, see Araújo et al. (2014, 2016).

This research does not highlight all the complexity of life projects and purpose. But it is hoped that new inquiries may emerge and reinforce more crucial issues for human development in all its aspects.

(See Brazilian Portuguese version of this blog post below references)

By Letícia Rojas, University of São Paulo, Brazil

References

Araújo, U. F., Arantes, V. A., et al. (2014). Youth purpose and life goals of students engaged in community and social activities. Magazine International d’Humanitats.

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"Civic Engagement: Purposeful Contributions to a Greater Good" panel discussion with Seana Moran of Clark University, Helen Haste of Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Scott Seider of Boston University, moderated by Adam Reilly of WGBH. April 25, 2017, at the Boston Athenaeum.